The Wedding
by JaggerK
Summary: Bruce finally proposes to Selina. The fairy tale wedding society has been dreaming of for years is planned...and then Damian arrives.
1. The Proposal

T -1 Year

GOTHAM

THE EAST END

NIGHT

"What about Paris? I could arrange for her to steal her own ring from that exclusive jeweler she loves so much." Batman tossed out the question as his fist slammed into one of the gang members he was fighting with Red Hood.

Hood jerked the gang member he was fighting to his feet. "Tell him that reminding a woman of her criminal past when you're proposing to her is not romantic."

Frantically the man looked between Hood and Batman unsure if they were serious. Deciding that they were actually serious the man bit his lip. "Ummm, yeah, sorry Bats. I gotta go with Hood on this one. But ya know, congrats and all." The man paused and whispered to Hood. "Does this mean they're gonna have kids of their own? Cause I could start a pool."

Hood considered the man for a brief moment then head butted him knocking him unconscious.

WAYNE MANOR

KITCHEN

MORNING

"Do you think she would like Rome?" Bruce walked into the kitchen as he asked the question.

Tim slowly looked up from his tablet. Alfred didn't even pause from wiping down the kitchen island.

"You plan to spend time with Miss Selina in Rome? I am sure she would be thrilled to have a vacation with you." Alfred spoke as he wiped the island. Tim hid his smirk behind his cup of coffee.

"What? No. There's a Zeta tube there. We would go for dinner and the proposal. We wouldn't stay."

Tim lowered the cup of coffee. "You've survived Joker, Intergalactic wars, Darkseid, and any other number of nasty things. In the end it's Catwoman who's going to take you out."

GOTHAM

WAYNE ENTERPRISES ROOF

NIGHT

Batman and Nightwing perched on the WE roof overlooking the city. Noises from below echoed up at them – car horns, the occasional siren.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all." Batman rumbled.

"Did we finally find something the Big Bad Bat is afraid of?" Nightwing teased. Batman looked out to the far side of the city. Nightwing's jaw almost dropped. "You're not really afraid, are you?"

Batman's head snapped back. "No. All of you have shot down every idea I've had. What if I do the wrong thing? What if she says no?"

"Batman." Nightwing's voice dropped to a barely there whisper. " _Bruce_." His voice rose again. "She won't say no. Even if you mess it up, she won't say no. We're only shooting down the ideas because we're as nervous as you are. It's like…..we're all proposing. You'll figure it out. We'll help."

Batman nodded at his oldest son and they sat together in companionable silence.

STAR CITY

QUEEN MANOR

EVENING

"So, Bruce, what is taking so long?" Oliver's eyes twinkled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Bruce frowned at him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Clark flush guiltily and look away. What had the Boy Scout done?

"Oh, come on. If you had done the deed Dinah would know and so I would know. Dinah doesn't know so why haven't you asked Selina to marry you? I don't believe for a minute she said no." Oliver was grinning.

Bruce narrowed his eyes at Clark. "Somehow you're responsible for this. Only the family knows and none of them would have talked."

"Ummm, it was an accident?" Clark said hesitantly.

"How, exactly, was it an accident?" Bruce asked through gritted teeth.

"Well, the last time I saw you, as Matches, you had a box in your jacket. I just had to make sure. That it wasn't lead lined. That's when I saw the rings." Clark had the grace to look away. "It just sort of came out when I saw Ollie." Clark's came back up to Bruce and he frowned. "Why did you have the rings as Matches?"

"So all of Gotham, including Selina, wouldn't know Bruce Wayne had a wedding set in his possession." Bruce gritted out.

"Which still doesn't explain how come you haven't proposed yet." Ollie was thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Selina is a complex woman." Bruce sighed.

"Ha!" Ollie snorted. "That's great! The World's Greatest Detective can't figure out how to propose to his own girlfriend!"

"I took Lois on a picnic to the Fortress." Clark smiled softly. "It was perfect.

"Does Selina seem like the picnic type to you?" Bruce privately thought that picnics were probably more Clark's thing than Lois' but she was often happy to indulge him so it probably worked out just as well.

"Maybe you should ask Selina how to do it. After all, she figured out who you were before you figured out who she was." Oliver's tone turned teasing.

"I had it figured out. I simply needed to confirm the facts. Not all the details…." Bruce stopped for a moment. He abruptly stood up. "We'll have to do this another time. I have to return to Gotham."

GOTHAM

THE KANE BUILDING

NIGHT

Catwoman stretched and balanced on the edge of the building. She had put in a long night already. It was going to have to end soon though. For some mysterious reason Alfred had replaced her normal slow burn snacks with double dark chocolate brownies. Not that she minded any opportunity to indulge in those sinful delights but when she crashed she was going to crash hard.

She jumped up to balance on her toes and flipped her way along the ledge of the building. The night was quiet and peaceful. The com was quiet with little to no chatter from the kids. The flipping stopped and she pirouetted on the toes of one foot on the ledge, her other leg stretched straight out.

The sensation of being watched overwhelmed her and she spun so the stretch of roof was in front of her with an expanse of empty air behind. Her body relaxed.

"It's you." Her lips curved. "I thought you were busy with your friends." She hopped down off the ledge and began to move forward. "I missed you Tiger. Did you miss me?"

He didn't speak just watched her walk seductively towards him. As soon as she was within striking range he grabbed her and pulled her tightly up against him. Any number of defensive moves or escape techniques rushed into her mind and through her muscle memory. She blew out a breath and forced herself to remain calm. This was all very familiar.

"Well now, this is quite a playground. A girl could have herself quite a time." Her hands splayed across his armoured chest as she spoke. The words weren't exact, it had been a long time, but they were close. What was he up to?

His head lowered towards hers. She stretched upwards but he held her firmly in place. With a slight growl of frustration she gave in. He obviously had a plan but if he denied her as he had the first time there was going to be problems. She closed her eyes and waited.

She needn't have been concerned. There was no denial. They kissed like they had been apart for years. Her hands fisted in his cape as if it would anchor her to reality. He dragged her up on to her tiptoes in an attempt to pull her closer to his body. When they finally pulled apart they were both breathing heavily.

"You taste like chocolate." His voice was ragged even with his normal rumble.

She stared at him for a moment. That explained the change in the snacks. Was this some kind of anniversary she had forgotten about?

"Yes, yes, I suppose I do."

"That doesn't change the fact that I'm missing some diamonds and I think you have them." He looked down at her from his full height.

"Really?" Catwoman smirked at him. He wanted to play 'good old days'? He was in an odd mood. "Search me." Her hands skimmed down her body suggestively. "I have nothing to hide."

"Oh, I bet you have all sorts of pretty things hidden under there." Batman began running his own hands down her body searching for his missing diamonds, crowding into her space. She felt his fingers slip into one of the pouches on her utility belt.

"Well, well. What do we have here." Batman pulled a stunning antique diamond ring out of the pouch and flashed it in front of her eyes.

"That is not mine! I did not put that there!" Catwoman's temper blazed. Someone had slipped that ring into her pouch without her noticing but whom? No one had even been close to her except for Batman. Suddenly, everything clicked into place including where she had seen the ring before.

"You put that ring in there." The ring, its origin, the significance of it slammed into her and stole her breath away. With some difficulty she got enough air back to speak. "Why would you do that?"

"You don't want it." His tone was flat.

"Want it? I suddenly feel like I've been waiting for it my whole life and I didn't know it. Of course I want it." Catwoman swallowed. "I'm an ex-thief from the East End. That ring was hers. It isn't right."

"The ring is mine to give. There's no one I want to give it to besides you." He tilted her head up. "I think if she knew you she would more than approve. My mother knew character and strength when she saw it." Batman paused a moment. "Can you take your gauntlet off so I can put it on now?"

Catwoman nodded and undid the latches to release her gauntlet. She slid it off and held out her hand to Batman. He slid the ring on her finger. It fit snugly like it had been there all along.

"It fits." She breathed.

"I was going to have it sized but it turns out you and my mother are the same size." Batman smiled slightly. "It looks beautiful on you."

"It is beautiful." Catwoman smiled up at him. "We're going to get married. Wow."

"We need to get home though." Batman took her hand. "Agent A and the kids are waiting to see if you said yes. Hood probably started taking bets on whether I screwed this up, how badly I screwed this up, and if you said no as soon as I left the Cave."

Laughing, Catwoman followed him off the roof.


	2. Demon Spawn

* _I was going to post this so soon after the first chapter but I know some of you are anxious to see Damian._

 _As always on original thoughts and ideas belong to me. Everything else belongs to DC._

T -6 Weeks 4 Days

WAYNE MANOR

MASTER BEDROOM

Selina stumbled toward the big welcoming bed shedding clothes as she went. She grabbed Bruce's dress shirt discarded on the end of the bed that Alfred had not yet found and put in the laundry slipping it on as a nightshirt. The mission with Dinah had been successful and finished earlier than expected but they were battered, bruised, and exhausted. Selina crawled under the heavy duvet and dropped immediately into sleep.

There was the initial confused moment of wondering if a nightmare had driven Dick to seek refuge with her once again. Then her survival instincts kicked in and she rolled away just in time for the blade to embed itself in the mattress right next to her. The assassin - and how did an assassin get all the way to the master bedroom through all the safeguards? - growled, yanked the blade from the bed, and then was on top of her. They struggled awkwardly for several minutes with the sheets and duvet between them.

Selina freed herself from the bedding and flipped the assassin. She pinned her attacker and gazed down at him. A boy of nine or ten she judged with green eyes, dark hair, and an olive complexion. There was something familiar about him but she couldn't quite place it.

"Geez kid. What did I do? Piss off the Lollipop Guild?" She grinned at him.

"You are the filth who stole Father away from Mother." He snarled at her. "I am correcting the problem."

"Father?" Now she saw it. Bruce. Bruce was definitely in that boy's features. Bruce and, oh God, Talia. Her stomach churned as she stared at him.

"Damian! What do you think you're doing?" Bruce's voice snapped from the doorway.

"I am eliminating this…person from standing between you and Mother. You have had your fun but it is time you came to your senses. If you will not do it on your own I will remove the distraction." Damian and Selina's eyes remained locked as Damian responded to Bruce.

"Selina is not a distraction. You cannot choose to eliminate people from my life simply because you don't want them there whether it's Selina or your brothers. They are my family, your family, and they are not going anywhere." Bruce was clearly running out of patience.

"Brothers? Who?" Selina demanded, not taking her eyes off Damian.

"Tim." Bruce told her. "He'll be fine." Selina hissed through her teeth and her eyes narrowed at Damian. "He's downstairs. Alfred is with him."

"He is not my brother." Damian voice was laced with arrogance. "Any more than those other two mongrels you took in. I am your blood son. I am the only one who counts."

Selina leaned her weight forward adjusting her grip to hold Damian's wrists in place with one hand. With the other she wrenched the dagger free of his grip. She moved quickly off of him to land next to Bruce giving him no chance to react. The flicker of surprise that crossed his face before he flipped himself off the bed to land on the side opposite them told her that Talia had downplayed Selina's abilities. The boy had gone into this fight completely unprepared to face his opponent.

Selina flipped the dagger end for end in her hand. It was a perfectly balanced weapon, fairly old, with a carved hilt. "Well at least you chose a good weapon to try to kill me. Don't try it again."

"No." Damian sneered at her. "Next time I will succeed."

"Damian!" Bruce roared and took a step forward. Selina had to give the boy credit. He didn't flinch or budge an inch. "You will NOT try to kill Selina or one of your brothers. We do not kill in this family. Do I make myself clear?"

Selina laid her hand on Bruce's arm and he restrained himself from stepping forward again.

"Whoa. Everybody just take a breath here." Her voice was calm. "I almost got stabbed to death. Why am I playing peacemaker? Lois would laugh her ass off." She muttered to herself.

She glanced at Damian who clenched his fists and bared his teeth. Selina tilted her head at him. "Do you really think you want to try again?"

"Father will just protect you." Damian sneered.

"Your Father does not protect me. I get….difficult when he protects me." Selina glanced up at Bruce. "Would that be a good word?"

Bruce glanced down and his body relaxed fractionally. "Difficult would be a word I would use." Selina looked back at Damian and smiled but Bruce continued. "If I was being extraordinarily generous."

Selina elbowed Bruce in the gut but continued to smile at Damian completely ignoring the muttered words from Bruce.

"You're merely a woman. No challenge at all." Damian informed her.

"Yet here I stand. Exhausted from a two week mission, holding your dagger, and decidedly not dead. Something wrong with that scenario, isn't there?" Selina smirked at him. "Besides, isn't your mother a woman? Or does Talia somehow not count?"

"My mother is an Al Ghul, beloved of the Batman. She is superior to all women." Damian replied coolly.

"You really have to keep me up to date when you decide you love someone else." Selina remarked to Bruce without looking at him.

"There won't be a need." He folded his arms at Damian who glared at him.

"Damian." Selina waited until Damian's glare shifted to her. "In all this time do you think that your Mother has never attempted to take me out?" Something flickered in Damian's eyes. That was information he hadn't been given either. "Allow me to assure you that she has. It never ended well for her. Not once. The boys and I aren't going anywhere, ever. There's a place here in this family for you Damian. You just have to be willing to accept it."

Damian eyed her warily as if she was some type of creature he had never seen before.

"Go to your room Damian." Bruce pointed out the door. "We'll discuss this more later. Do NOT attempt to kill anyone."

"Damian." Selina waited until he turned back around. "Perhaps at dinner we can get to know one another a little better. Without the dagger." Damian looked confused and then continued back out the door, closing it behind him. "He's going to be more work than the other three combined, isn't he?" Selina sighed.

"I'm sorry. She just showed up with him. She said she was being hunted and needed to leave him some place safe."

Selina wrapped her arms around Bruce. "Hey. It's okay. He's yours and I'm kind of used to you bringing home lost boys by now. It would be better if he wasn't trying to kill me in my sleep but I'll adjust."

Bruce's lips twitched. "You've always been better with the boys than I have."

"Somehow I don't think that's going to work with this one. Besides, it's more of a team effort. I'm good at some things, you're good at some things, and when we both screw up we have Alfred." She smiled and then a horrible thought entered her head. "He didn't try to kill Alfred, did he?"

"No. Worse. He treats him like a servant." Bruce grinned.

"And he lived to tell the tale?" Selina was shocked.

"Alfred has shown an astounding amount of patience." Bruce's mouth flattened. "This latest episode with Tim might be the last straw. Tim will be fine though. Alfred has him resting with orders that none of us are to bother him for the next couple of hours."

"Bruce." Selina paused. "I'm not saying that she isn't in danger but don't you think the timing of this interesting? The danger just happens to be so bad this time that she has to reveal Damian to you so close to our wedding?"

Bruce sighed. "I haven't had much time to think. The danger was real and keeping Damian from getting himself killed trying to avenge his grandfather kept me pretty distracted. That may have been Talia's intention. He's been clashing with Dick since he got here. Tim had been at Mount Justice and when he came back Damian lost it. He claimed he had to eliminate his competition. That being Robin was his birthright and Tim was standing in his way."

"I thought my last couple of weeks were hard."Selina hesitated. "Bruce. Are you sure you're okay with him here?"

Bruce gazed at the doorway that Damian had walked through a moment before then looked back at Selina. "I'm fine. What she did has nothing to do with the boy."

"I think we both need some rest." Selina turned toward the bed. She felt Bruce grab the shirt and spin her back.

"You seem to be wearing my shirt, Miss Kyle." He said with a glitter in his eyes.

"What? This thing? I found it abandoned on the bed. I liked it so I'm wearing it." She gave him a cocky grin. "It feels good on my skin."

"I think you should give it back. It isn't yours." Bruce's hand tightened on the expensive fabric.

"Make me." Selina dared him.

GOTHAM CATHEDRAL

NIGHT

Catwoman braced herself on the gargoyle looking out over the city. She felt Hood approaching behind her but didn't move or acknowledge his presence.

"Hey." He stopped next to her. "I hear there's a new bundle of joy at the Cave."

"Word spreads." Catwoman glanced down from her perch. She added sarcastically. "He's so cute that you just want to pinch his cheeks."

"Ha!" Hood reached up and released the catches on his helmet. When he looked up at her only the domino covered his face, concern clear. "You're okay though, right? Replacement too?"

"Yes. We're both fine. He hasn't been cleared for duty yet but he'll be okay." She smiled. "You should go see him. He'd like that."

"Maybe." Hood looked down and fiddled with his helmet for a minute. "Wanted you to know that I didn't know about him." He looked back up at her. "At all. Not a hint or a rumour while I was there. I would have said something. Not at first but after I wouldn't have kept a kid from the Big Guy."

"We know. The thought never crossed our minds." Her lips quirked. "You going to fly with me?"

He nodded, replacing his helmet, and secured the catches. Two grappling lines shot off, held. Two of Gotham's family of protectors step off the Cathedral into its forbidding night like it was a mother's embrace never doubting they would be welcomed there.


	3. The Pastor

T -3 Weeks 2 Days

WATCHTOWER

DAY

"I'm going to kill him."

Spoiler's face filled the screen in the Watchtower watch room. Batman sighed to himself.

"What did he do now?" Batman's tone was weary. Keeping Damian from the other kids' throats was becoming a full time job. He wouldn't have left the surface for the Watchtower at all if it hadn't been that this meeting had been extremely important.

"Catwoman asked me to drop some paperwork off with the Pastor that's supposed to perform the wedding. Only when I get there he's gone. His assistant tells me he just suddenly left that morning and she's been trying to get ahold of all the couples he's scheduled to marry in the next few weeks."

"Why do you think this is Damian?" Not that Bruce doubted for one minute that this was his son. The boy had stopped trying to kill or maim people in the family and was resorting to sabotaging the wedding.

"The assistant said that the pastor was mumbling about a demon child who appeared through his window and threatened to behead him if he didn't leave today." Spoiler raised an eyebrow at Batman. "She put it down to stress but that sounds like someone we know, doesn't it?"

"Yes." Bruce wanted to rub his head to ease the growing headache in his temples. They really should have stopped at one. "Have you told her yet?"

"No. Of course not!" Spoiler glared at him. Stephanie wondered to herself why all men had to be this oblivious. "Do you know how hard it's going to be to find a replacement at this late date?"

"I'll do it!" The enthusiastic voice of Hal Jordan caused both Stephanie and Bruce to stiffen. Spoiler 's on screen face looked past Batman and he could see her wince under her mask, not that anyone else outside the family would notice. He felt his headache ramp up another notch before he swiveled to face the group of people neither of them had noticed walk in to the room: Superman, Wonder Woman, Hal, John, J'onn, and Aquaman. Great, just great.

"It'll be fun! I'll just get my certificate online to be, what's it called, ordained." Hal grinned at Batman. "It'll be a blast."

Bruce decided he would rather have pull out his own finger nails with pliers and then dip his hands in vinegar than have Hal Jordan officiate at his wedding. The man was reckless, irresponsible, and would likely make a mess of a solemn occasion. Not to mention, he would feel Bruce owed him a favour. He could just imagine how insufferable he would be then.

Selina would probably get a kick out of it with her sense of humour….or she'd leaving him tied and hanging upside down from Wayne Enterprises. Him or Hal, it could go either way. It depended on her mood. It was just not happening.

"As it happens," John said smoothly. "I already have my officiant's license. Helped out a couple of buddies at different times. I can save you the trouble, Hal."

"Oh, well, I guess if you already have it there's really no point then." The man actually sounded disappointed, Bruce thought.

"I'll report to Catwoman we have a suitable replacement in place." Spoiler spoke from the screen. "We'll keep the Demon Spawn out of the loop?"

"Contrary to Hood's suggestion 'Demon Spawn' is not going to be his codename." Batman stated firmly. "However, yes, let's keep this to ourselves."

Spoiler nodded and the screen went blank. Bruce really just wanted to rub his aching head. Why had he ever agreed to take on so many kids? Things had been so easy with Dick. He tuned partially back into the conversation around him, hushed voices discussing 'Demon Spawn'. Yes, he was definitely including the Justice League in that tally. Did they think he couldn't hear them? He was The Batman, for God's sake.


	4. The Love Child

T -5 DAYS

WAYNE MANOR

KITCHEN

MORNING

"I'm going to kill him."

The words were said with viciousness as Tim slid his tablet across the kitchen island to Dick where he sat eating his breakfast.

Dick looked up startled at his younger brother. "Hey now, who are you going…." The words trailed off as he looked back down at the tablet in front of him. It had the website for a national tabloid up. The words "Wayne Love Child" screamed out at him. Below them were a stock photo of Bruce at his charming best and a photo of Damian, obviously taken with a long range lens but good enough to show that he was clearly Bruce's son. Dick skimmed the article. It talked about the torrid love affair that produce Damian, Bruce choosing Selina over Damian's mother, Selina refusing to allow any contact with the boy. There was even a damaged copy of his birth certificate confirming Bruce Thomas Wayne as his father. "Oh."

"Yes. 'Oh'." Tim paced next to Dick. "They didn't just happen on that story. There's no way they got his birth certificate without help. Did you notice it's damaged enough that Talia's name is missing? Wouldn't want his precious Mommy dragged into this."

"You have no proof that Damian did this. It could have been Talia doing this without his knowledge." Dick responded trying to calm Tim down.

"Really? That's what you're going with? After everything else that's happened you want to believe the little demon doesn't have it in him?" Tim's teeth were nearly gritted closed.

The swinging door of the kitchen opened and Jason strolled in. His hair was messed from sleep. He was still wearing the tank top and sweatpants he had gone to bed in a few hours before having chosen to spend the night at the manor rather than go home.

"I could hear you out there, Baby Bird. What does Big Bird think the Demon Spawn not have in him?"

Tim grabbed the tablet from Dick and shoved it at Jason. Jason took it and slowly read through the contents of the article. He handed the tablet back to Tim on his way to the coffee pot.

"I'm with Baby Bird on this one." He spoke as he poured his coffee. "That kid is out to cause damage. You need to wake up Dickie. Do it before he does something to Selina we can't fix."

"I am thinking about Selina. I'm also thinking about Bruce. This is horrible for both of them but what if it's something bigger? What if Talia is trying to throw us off balance? What if this isn't Damian at all?" Dick responded.

"If Talia is involved it's only because she wants Selina gone." Jason snapped at Dick. "This isn't some 'throw us of our game' grand plan. Talia hates Selina. She wants Bruce back. This is either the Demon on his own or with his Mommy working to make that happen. I saw it happen too many times as a kid. Guy gets a little action on the side, few years later the bimbo shows up with a kid, and it's the wife who suffers for it. Relationship over. You happy to stand back and watch that happen?"

"Do the math Jason. They weren't together when Talia had Damian." Dick was losing his grip on his temper and snapped back at Jason. "It's not nearly the same thing. Bruce didn't cheat on Selina."

"You are so clueless, Dickiebird." Jason laughed harshly. "How do you date all these beautiful women and know nothing? All these years that they've been together and what does Bruce give to Talia _by accident_ that he never gave to Selina? A kid. That ties two people together forever but Bruce never gave that to Selina. Nope. Never."

"Guys. GUYS." Tim's voice was quiet and then rose dramatically to get his brothers' attention. They looked at him and then followed his gaze to the far side of the kitchen were a pale faced Selina stood in the garden entrance.

"Ummm, Selina, hi. We were just…" Dick stopped talking unsure what to say next.

"Talking about Damian's latest fiasco?" Selina guessed. The boys stared at her, shocked. She shrugged her shoulders. "Yes, I know. Bruce has been on the phone with his PR people for a while about how to handle it."

"You're not…mad?" Tim was hesitant.

"No, Tim, I'm not mad." Selina smiled at him. "It was going to happen. Later would have been better but Damian rushed the timetable. And yes, Dick, we're quite certain it was him."

As she moved past Jason to head out the kitchen door into the main house he caught her arm. As she looked up at him he saw a flash of pain in her eyes before they were calm again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He was worried about her.

"Of course I'm okay, Jason. Damian doesn't hold any power over me. Talia certainly doesn't." Selina smiled at him. He released her arm and she walked straight out the door.

Jason waited almost a full minute before he said anything. "How bad do we think that was?"

Dick opened his mouth but Tim answered first. "That was a disaster. With the exception of you dying I think that is the worst one of us has ever hurt her. This time all three of us managed to be in on it."

Dick and Jason stared at him. "What are you talking about ?" Dick finally managed.

"She used our names. Our real names." Tim's face was grim. "How often does that happen when it's just family?"

"It's what you said." Dick looked at Jason. "The thing about Bruce never giving her kids."

"I told you it would hurt her that he never did that!" Jason glared at him.

"That's just the point! Bruce did give her kids. Three of them! We're arguing about it right now. Selina's always felt that way even if she didn't push the issue." Dick sighed. "But you made it pretty clear you don't feel that way."

"That's not true! I just…ah, crap. Roy was right. I hate it when Roy is right." Jason collapsed down on to the bench seat by the window with his coffee mug.

"What does Roy have to do with any of this?" Tim's gaze swung back and forth between his brothers, bewildered.

"Have a seat, Timmie." Dick gestured to the bench next to Jason. "We have some stuff to talk about and figure out."

 _Check out the Mother's Day series for the conversation Roy had with Dick and Jason regarding their Mothers (Selina & Dinah). It also contains Roy's own mom moment with Dinah. _


	5. The Wedding Dress

T-2 Days

Wayne Manor

Guest Bedroom

"I'm going to kill him." Selina muttered.

"I'm going to help you." Lois stood next her in the guest bedroom of the manor Alfred had set up specifically to provide a secure home for Selina's wedding dress. A dress that hung on its padded hanger shredded to ribbons.

"That boy is a mess of issues and trauma." Dinah's voice preceded her into the room and she stepped up beside them. "I have no doubt that most of what Damian considers his 'normal' childhood was border line, if not outright, abusive. This could be any number of things causing him to act out. Remember, his mother essentially abandoned him, his grandfather was murdered in front of his eyes, his father is being kept away – as far as he is concerned – from his mother by another woman."

"You don't think so." Selina eyed the Team's therapist speculatively.

"I know so." Dinah told her. "I've taken everything you've told me, watched him since I got here, and talked him. Well, as much as he'll deign to talk to me anyway. That kid has an agenda. Or at least he has the one his mother sent him with."

"Wonderful news." Lois sighed. "Also, glad to know it's not just me that's beneath him. So what do we do about his agenda? Better question, where do we get a couture gown in two days? Because Selina Kyle does not marry Bruce Wayne in off the rack."

The three women turned back to look at the shredded dress.

T -2 DAYS

WAYNE MANOR

WEST ATTIC

"Alfred didn't say why he needed the three of us to go up to the attic?" Lois looked around at the high looming ceiling. "And I have to say, this looks nothing like any attic I've ever been in. It's spotless and look at all the windows."

"The apartment I had before Ollie?" Dinah grinned. "Could have fit in this corner. It definitely didn't have this many windows."

"First, of course it's spotless. I think dirt is afraid of Alfred." Selina grinned back at Dinah. "Second, Alfred asks, you go. No questions. Bruce is afraid of him." She glanced down at the paper in her hand. "We go around this corner."

The women rounded the corner and stopped to stare at the object in the center of the room. A mannequin stood there with sunlight filtering through the windows lighting around it. A wedding gown made of beautiful delicate lace was on it glowing in the sunlight. The narrow straps draped just at the edge of the shoulders. The lace was scalloped creating a beautiful open frame for the bride's shoulders, neck, and face. The bodice nipped into a narrow waist and belled out into a gentle swell of skirt that scalloped at the bottom.

Selina approached the gown slowly, reverently. She circled toward the back. The open scalloping from the front was continued on the back. It was corseted with a church length train. The underdress was strapless and taffeta. Selina reached out to touch it and snatched her hand back at the last minute.

"I think she likes it, Leslie." The sound of the voice caused Selina, Dinah, and Lois to whip around spotting Martha Kent and Leslie Thompkins off to one side.

"I..It's beautiful. Where did it come from?" Selina's eyes drifted back over the dress then she forced them back to Martha and Leslie.

"It was Martha's." Leslie answered her.

"Yours?" Lois frowned at Martha.

"Not mine, dear." Martha laughed. "Bruce's mother's."

"That's right." Dinah smiled. "You both have the same name."

"What is Mrs. Wayne's dress doing out?" Selina took a step back from the gown.

"We thought you should wear it." Leslie smiled at her. "Let's try it on you."

"No, no, I can't." Selina took another step back from the dress.

"Why not?" Lois cocked her head at her. "Look at that thing, it's gorgeous. If you don't wear I might see if I can get Smallville to marry me again."

"Bruce's mother's dress? Are you kidding?" Selina was beginning to pale. "You know how he is about his parents. I'm just going to stroll down the aisle with his mother's dress on?"

"That will be quite enough of that." Martha's voice was quiet but everyone's attention turned to her. "That boy loves you. You're going to do him the honour of wearing the dress his mother wore to marry his father. Didn't he give you her ring?" Selina opened her mouth to speak and Martha just continued. "I didn't say you could speak. You could wear a paper bag down the aisle and he wouldn't care but this, this will mean something. "

"She met you, you know." Everyone's attention turned to Leslie. Selina's eyes were wide with confusion. "I know you don't remember. I doubt Bruce does either. You were six, he was eight. You had fallen while chasing the older boys across fire escapes. You had a concussion. For the most part, you were fine but later your memory of that day seemed hazy. Or maybe you just didn't want to remember Bruce and his Mother."

"He was eight." _Yes, but for just a second it felt like I was flying Bruce. Don't you want to fly?_ The memory crept unbidden into her mind. "Was that the day that they….."

"Yes." Leslie smiled softly at her. "My point wasn't to bring up sad memories. My point was that Martha liked you. She often brought Bruce with her to volunteer, she thought it was important, but she left him with you that day because you were the type child she wanted him to spend more time with. Well, maybe with a little less fire escape flying. She would have loved you Selina. She would be thrilled that her boy is marrying you."

There were tears and laughter as they got Selina into the gown. Lois ruthlessly tied the corset. Dinah grabbed the box Alfred had retrieved from the vault containing Martha's diamond crown. It sparkled and glittered in the sunlight as she stepped up to put it on Selina's head.

"All those years trying to stop you from stealing sparkly things and now we're just giving them to you." Dinah smirked. "Am I forgiven for slamming you into that wall yet?"

"No, not yet." Selina laughed at her.

"Didn't think so." Dinah stepped back to admire her handiwork with the other ladies. Selina sparkled and shimmered from head to toe. The gown fit her as if it had been made for her.

"Martha, Leslie." Selina held out her hands. Martha and Leslie slipped closer and Selina pulled them into her sides as they grasped her hands. "Bruce's mother and my own can't be here but I'm so very glad that I have the two of you to stand with me in their stead."

"I swear you all compete to see which of you can cause my heart to stop on any given night but I wouldn't give up a single one of you." Leslie pressed a kiss to Selina's cheek and then tilted her head as if considering. "Well, some nights possibly Hood and Batman but I'm keeping you and the rest."

Laughter filled the attic. When everyone calmed down Martha spoke.

"Jonathan and I never thought we would have children. Then one literally fell out of the sky. We thought we were so blessed and we were but there was so much more coming our way. Kara came, sweet girl, but we have our Connor because of you. We have Bruce who is like another son and all those beautiful grandchildren." Her smile turned to Dinah.

"We even have the most amazing great granddaughter in the universe. I know, because she told me so." Laughter came again. "We are blessed to be parents and grandparents to superheroes. We are proud and honoured to be with you as you marry Bruce. There is nowhere else we would rather be."

Selina hugged Martha and Leslie tightly. Behind her Lois nudged Dinah.

"So we solved one problem. What do we do about the other?"

"That one's going to be a lot more difficult." Dinah frowned slightly.


	6. My Three Sons

_Some people have been asking about what Roy told Jason and Dick. If you really want to check out the Roy & Dick & Jason and Selina & Dinah story in the Mother's Day series. It is relevant to this chapter but you don't need to read it. Sufficed to say, Roy's talk and their screw up in the Love Child chapter of this series prompt the conversation below._

 _As usual, I own nothing. *sigh*_

WEDDING DAY

BRIDE'S CHAMBER

WAYNE MANOR

Selina stood looking out the windows not really seeing what lay beyond them. It was her wedding day. She was marrying Bruce. Finally, some would say. What others thought didn't matter. They did what was right for them, when it was right for them, and not a minute before. Certainly nobody made Catwoman and Batman do anything unless they were good and ready to do it.

She had hoped for less chaos in their personal lives, it certainly would have been futile to hope for it in their professional ones, civilian or otherwise. Had it really only been six weeks before that she had come home to find Damian trying to kill her? Most women finding out their fiancée had a ten year old with another woman didn't have to deal with that child trying to kill them or their children. She sighed, she really needed to stop thinking of them that way. It was obvious from the conversation she had walked in on that certainly Jason, and likely the others, didn't feel she was in any way his mother.

Soft knocking on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Come in." She called as she turned away from the window.

Dick poked his head in the door and his eyes widened when he saw her. "Wow." He came all the way into the room and slowly closed the door behind him. "You look amazing." He twirled his finger in the air. On a laugh, Selina spun for him. The skirt belled out delicately around her. "You always look stunning but this is something else. You're going to blow him away."

Dick paused then moved to sit on the settee. "Can we talk?"

"Sure." Selina sat next to him, carefully arranging her skirt. "Is this the 'Take Good Care of My Batman' speech?"

"No. This is the "Thank you for being my Mother" speech." Dick responded.

Selina's throat was suddenly very dry and she wasn't entirely sure that her heart was beating anymore. Slowly, she lifted her eyes up to meet Dick's.

"I thought my Mom was the most beautiful woman on the planet. I was right, both times." Dick watched the tears well up in Selina's eyes. "I've always thought of myself as an orphan because I lost John and Mary Grayson when I was eight. I never let myself acknowledge that somewhere along the way you and Bruce became my parents. Both of you are okay with that. Bruce probably because feelings aren't something he's good at but you, you do it because you would never ask any of us for anything you don't think we can give."

"Dick." Selina started.

"No. Let me finish." Dick took a deep breath when Selina nodded. "I tell people all the time that you aren't my parents, that you aren't my Mom. I came to you with every break up. You held me when Jay died, when Wally got sucked into the Speed Force. Let me sleep with you through all those nightmares." His voice went quiet. "You got shot for me. You almost died. You _should_ have died. I've read the police reports. If you had hesitated at all you wouldn't have been fast enough. You didn't though. You just put your body between me and those bullets. I've never even said thank you."

"You don't have to say 'thank you'. There wasn't a choice to be made even if it meant I might die. You had to live. You were min-" Selina cut off abruptly and looked away.

"I was yours. Even then, I was yours." Dick supplied for her.

"From the minute I laid eyes on you I wanted you but I knew I couldn't have you. Then the first time you came to me with a nightmare you asked if you could come back to me if it happened again and Bruce wasn't home. Do you remember?" She waited until Dick nodded. "That was it. I was a goner but you were never going to be my child. Rationally; emotionally, well, that's a whole different story."

"You've been there for me from the minute you came through the front door and Bruce told you what he'd done. I don't think Mary Grayson could have asked for anyone better to raise her son for her." Dick leaned forward and pulled Selina into a hug.

"Oh, kitten, I love you so much." Selina whispered into her ear.

"I love you too." He whispered back. "Mom."

He pulled back quickly at the sound of the sob. "Don't cry. Please don't cry. I'm not the only one who wants to talk to you so you can't start crying yet. Besides, won't it ruin your make up or something?" He waved his hands in the air.

Selina gave a watery laugh. "Smooth, kitten, smooth. I thought you were the one who is supposed to be good with women."

"Hey!" Dick looked affronted. "I am amazing with women."

"Sure." They looked toward the door were Jason now stood. "You keep telling yourself that." Jason narrowed his eyes at Selina. "Did you make her cry, Big Bird?"

"No. I very specifically told her not to cry." Dick defended himself.

"Oh, yeah." Jason rolled his eyes. "Amazing with women." He opened the door and waved Dick out of the room. "Out. Your turn is over."

Jason was quiet for a minute after Dick left the room and closed the door behind him, studying Selina in her wedding dress.

"I heard your dress got shredded."

"You know Alfred, prepared for anything." Selina smiled slightly. "He had a spare tucked away."

"Yeah. He's good." Jason's eyes widened slightly. "That's Martha Wayne's dress, isn't it? Oh, that is not what the Demon Spawn had planned when he pulled that stunt."

"Jason, I doubt you came to talk about my dress." Selina's smile was gone.

"No, I didn't." Jason let out a breath. "The first time I met you I was sulking about something, I don't remember what, I did a lot of that back then."

"You don't now?" Selina murmured.

Jason barked a laugh. "You came in with an expensive suit, nails and hair done. I thought I had you all figured out. I told you I was just some mangy stray Bruce dragged in off the street. Wasn't going to be all nice and sweet like Dickie. Didn't even bother to get up off the floor to do it. You just sat on the floor next to me in that expensive suit. Do you remember what you told me?"

"Strays have more character than pedigrees. They're stronger and they can hold up better under pressure." Selina smiled slightly. "I told you maybe you weren't such a good stray after all if you couldn't spot another one when you saw one."

"Yeah, maybe I wasn't." Jason smiled back. "You said I didn't have to be Dick, I just had to be the best me I could be. You honestly believed that and always treated me that way even if I didn't see it. You called me stray after that to remind me I was stronger but I forgot what it meant."

"When I left to go look for Sheila I was so angry with myself, with Bruce, with the world in general. Somehow I thought finding her would fix that. I don't think I had really thought through what would happen if I actually found my mother." Jason hesitated. "Like the fact that she could take me away from my Mom."

The implications of his last statement hung in the air between them. Selina finally broke the silence.

"Jason." Her eyes cut away for a moment and came back to meet his. "I heard what you said in the kitchen. I know how you feel about me."

"That's not what I meant!" Jason ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "It's just that it's different with blood kids. How many times has Damian pointed that out? You and Bruce should have had one of your own a long time ago. Not just the ones that Bruce picked up in random places."

"Oh, stray, you are my own." Selina cupped Jason's cheek with her hand. "You always have been. I've loved each of you since the moment I laid eyes on you."

"Oh no, don't do that." Jason began to panic as a tear leaked out of Selina's eye. He wiped the tear away with the pad of his thumb. "I just gave Golden Boy hell for that."

"Language." Selina said on a watery laugh then sobered. "You know we would have fought her for you. If she had tried to take you away we never would have let it happen."

"Would you have?" Jason murmured.

"You're my stray, you were Bruce's Robin, Dick's Jaybird, our boy. How can you doubt that? We would never have let you go without a fight. We would have sent Alfred after her if we had too."

Jason snickered. "Pulling in the big guns, you are serious."

Before Selina could respond there was a knock on the door. It opened and Tim walked in.

"What do you want, Baby Bird?" Jason questioned.

"Ma says it's my turn." Tim responded.

"Oh well, if Ma says so." Jason responded sarcastically.

"Jason Peter Todd. I heard that." Ma Kent's voice was heard from the other room. "I don't want any more of your sass. You get your butt out of that room so your brother can talk to Selina."

"Yes ma'am right away." Jason leaned over to give Selina a kiss on the cheek and hurried out of the room.

Tim closed the door behind his brother, turned back to Selina, and smirked. "Can we have her move in here? Between her and Alfred we'd have him under control in no time. Besides, then we'd have the world's best cookies, brownies, _and_ pies."

"Are you kidding? Do you know how hard I would have to work out?" Selina shook her head. "Besides, it's part of his charm."

"Some days I could do with a little less of his charm." Tim grumbled.

"He's your brother, you love him. That doesn't mean you have to like him all the time." Selina smiled at him. "Now he's not even the worst brother you have."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Tim pushed his floppy bangs out of his face. "We don't really have to keep him, do we?"

"Pretty sure we do. I don't think the vows say 'for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until Damian do us part'." Selina smirked at him.

Tim snorted out a laugh. "I guess you're right." He sobered quickly. "You know Janet and Jack didn't have a whole lot of time for me growing up. I mostly got to spend time with them when it was convenient or when it worked out. Even the night at the circus I wouldn't have been there if the Flying Graysons hadn't been so famous that most of Gotham's elite had gone to see them and it was an event they would be expected to take me too."

"When I was following all of you around that was something that I envied. You were a family. You spent all that time together. Fighting crime sure but it was still time together. Catwoman and Robin would goof around when it was quiet, Nightwing would join in when he was there. Batman wouldn't but sometimes I would catch him watching you. You were his, all of you. He was proud and amused by your antics. I wanted to be part of that. My parents didn't even notice I was missing."

"Oh, Tim." Selina's heart broke for that young boy.

"The shock when I finally figured out who you all really were though. You actually weren't a family. I mean, not a traditional one. You and Bruce weren't married. Dick and Jason weren't your birth children. There was nothing holding you together except that you all wanted to be. You let me be a part of that. You and Bruce were more my parents than my parents were even before they died. After, you were everything I had. I don't know what I would do without you. Even if sometimes I wish you being my Mom meant you would always take my side instead of those other two but no, you insist on being fair." Tim rolled his eyes.

"Oh puss, what would you do without us? What would we do without you?" The tears were back in Selina's eyes. "You brought Bruce back from the edge. You brought me home. You made us a family again. We couldn't have done that without you. We were raw and hurting and so far apart. You just dragged us back together whether we wanted to or not."

"It had to be done." Tim's voice was quiet. "Someone had to do."

Selina reached out and pulled Tim into an embrace. "Not someone, you, just you."

Before anything further could be said the sound of escalating voices could be heard from the outer room. Selina and Tim pulled apart and frowned at one another. They walked to the door together and Tim pulled it open.

In the outer room Selina's bridesmaids stood forming a solid wall behind Ma Kent. All of them were protesting something loudly.

"Enough." Ma hardly raised her voice and all talking ceased. "Now, I understand that you think you have a right to feel a certain way. That does not, however, excuse any of the behaviour I have heard about or witnessed since I have set foot in this house."

"I am of the House of al Ghul." The rich cultured tone of Damian Wayne could be heard even if the boy himself couldn't be seen beyond the wall of bridesmaids. "I do not have to listen or explain myself to peasant stock such as you."

"Why you little brat." Dinah moved forward but Ma motioned her to remain still.

Ma Kent had raised more than one Kryptonian. A ten year old Damian Wayne wasn't going to faze her. "You are also of the House of Wayne. This is your Father's wedding day. You will show some respect. To him, to his Bride, to the memory of your Grandparents. Do you understand me, Damian?"

Selina had no idea what Ma put into the look with what she told him but there was a pause before Damian answered.

"I merely wish to speak to…..Kyle." There was another pause before he continued. "I will not attempt to harm her or disrupt the wedding in anyway. You have my word as both an al Ghul and a Wayne. Is that acceptable?"

"I'll talk to him." Everyone turned at the sound of Selina's voice, startled to see Tim and Selina in the doorway.

"Are you sure?" Tim squeezed her hand.

"Yeah, I got this." Selina squeezed his hand back and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't worry; I'll try not to take his side too often."

Selina had arranged herself in the center of the settee, spreading out her skirts as far they would go, leaving Damian no way to join her there. This left to him with no option but to stand in front of her or sit in a chair on the far side of the room. The chair was simply too far away to allow for any reasonable kind of conversation leaving Damian no choice but to stand in front of her.

Selina resembled a Queen holding court right down, she thought, to the glittering diamond crown on her head. She doubted the boy raised in the League of Shadows would miss the symbolism.

"You wanted to talk." Selina inclined her head slightly.

"I was left here with Father because it became necessary for my safety but also so that I could dispatch you. Mother told me that Father did not truly love you, that once you were gone permanently he would realize that and turn back to her." Damian paused as if uncertain. "Obviously I was unable to accomplish my mission."

"Obviously." Selina said drily. "Perhaps if you had been given better intel on my abilities you would have stood a chance. I think there is a possibility that the person who sent you on this mission would prefer to not admit at what caliber my skills are but I have fought side by side with your father for a great number of years. Fought with the Justice League, helped to form the Birds of Prey. One can't be expected to be incompetent."

"…..No. One cannot." Damian stared at her. "I formed another plan. Researched extensively. There were things I could do to cause dissent in the household, to push you to your breaking point. All of the sources agreed that you would be vulnerable in the weeks leading up to the wedding. That you would crack if things went awry." Damian's voice rose dramatically and his chest heaved. "Why are you not a Bridezilla?"

There was the little boy in the assassin, Selina thought to herself. She forced her lips not to twitch as she watched him.

"Bridezilla? Where did you learn that term? It certainly wasn't Nanda Parbat." Her eyes widened slightly. "Damian, have you been trolling the wedding forums?"

"Of course not." Damian regained control of himself and waved away the thought with his hand. "I went directly to reputable websites. They all talked about the dreaded Bridezilla and what could set her off. Nothing I did bothered you."

"Oh, it bothered me." Selina was going to have to check the search history of the internet to see which 'reputable' websites he had looked at. "But I've been tortured by the Joker; you were way out of your league. It wasn't anything I couldn't handle especially not with your Father, our family, and friends by my side."

"How did you find another dress?" He demanded. "The sites quite clearly said it would take months or longer to get another one."

"It's your Grandmother's." Selina gestured at the crown. "As is this." Damian's eyes followed her hand's path back down to her side. Selina looked back and forth between her hand and Damian. "What?"

"When I killed you I was supposed to take the ring for my mother." Damian swallowed and continued to stare at the ring. "She said it was meant for her, not you. I was to send it to her. She would have it for when Father came for her."

"I see." Selina was going to beat Talia into the ground the next time she saw her. What kind of Mother did this to her child? She sighed internally. Given the information she had recently uncovered about Talia and Ra's she knew exactly kind of mother would do this to her child.

"Father spoke to me yesterday….about Grandfather." Damian paused again. Selina caught a glimpse of pain before it was pushed back. "He is alive. Mother told me the Pits could not save him and yet he is alive. She also did not see fit to inform me of his resurrection."

The silence dragged out between them. Selina watched Damian carefully. Damian finally broke the silence and spoke again.

"Father also informed me that it was you and the former Cheshire who gained this information."

" _Jade_ " Selina emphasized the name. "and I both felt something was….off about the situation. Since we still have contacts that the others wouldn't have access to we did some digging. It wasn't easy but we found the truth." Sportsmaster had been a bloody mess when they left him. "I wish we could have found it sooner for you, Damian."

"What do you expect in return for this?" Damian eyed her suspiciously.

"Nothing." Selina's heart ached for him. Oh yes, she was going to make Talia pay for hurting her boy. _Her_ boy? Was she falling for this assassin child who wanted to kill her? Had she finally lost her _mind_?

"…..Are you listening to me, Kyle?" Damian demanded.

"Sorry. Got lost in thought." Selina waved for him to continue. "Go on."

"Everyone wants something. No one does anything for nothing." Damian narrowed his eyes. "Even if the goal is simply to watch the other person suffer."

"Oh Damian." Selina's voice softened. "Jade and I are well accomplished in the art of the deal. Jade would have been trained as a member of the League of Shadows, even more so than me, in making people suffer. Both of us are capable of it but we are mothers, Damian, and however much you might protest it you are a child. We would never do that to you, certainly never about something like this. You deserved to know the truth about your Grandfather being alive."

"Cheshire has that brat who may be more annoyingly cheerful than Grayson. You have no children. Only one of you is a mother." Damian stated.

Oh yes, worse than the other three put together Selina thought. "Children don't have to be born to you to be yours. I have three beautiful boys that I have raised with your Father. You should know that. You've done nothing but antagonize them since you got here. You even attempted to kill the youngest."

Damian had the grace to look down at the floor. "She left me here on purpose."

"So it would seem." Selina's voice was soft, not much more than a whisper.

Damian looked up at Selina suddenly. "You are a formidable, worthy opponent. You bested me in combat and in other trials. I believe that I could learn from you. It no longer suits me to kill you."

"Gee, thanks." Selina responded sarcastically.

Damian looked uncertain and took a deep breath. "The night we met you told me that there was a place for me in this family. I just had to be willing to accept it. Is there still?"

"Yes, of course."

Damian nodded, turned on his heel, and strode out of the room. He left the door to the room wide open. Bridesmaids poured into room demanding answers proceeded by Ma who silenced them all with a look.

"Selina, honey, are you okay?" Ma asked with concern.

"I think maybe Bruce is right. Maybe we should have stopped with just one."


End file.
